Why should I get a CRF over a KTM SX450?

By Typhoon33, Posted March 13, 2003

By Highflier, Posted March 13, 2003

I don't know which is "better". They are both good bikes so you may need to make your decision based on dealer support, which is closer/better, resale values and most important, which one is the neatest color

By MXDARREL, Posted March 13, 2003

the crf for sure-parts availabilty-resale value-more aftermaket parts

By WHIDBEYDH, Posted March 13, 2003

I have become a fairly frequent story swapper w/ the owner of a KTM, YAMAHA, GAS GAS, SUZUKI dealership, and I was talking to him about buying a 450 exc. He actualy told me that him and another KTM dealer had an ongoing joke "how do you ruin a perfectly good customer?...Sell him a KTM."

I couldn't believe it, I had heard nothing but good about them.

I still am not thoughouly convinced he was right, but he does own the place, He went on to ask me what kind of bike I already had and I told him a CRF 450. He asked why I would possibly want to replace it, being such a good bike and all.

I told him that I didn't want to, and that I really wanted two bikes. One for woods, and one for the track.

He asked if I was insane, and if I had money to burn. Then told me to stick with the CRF.

If he would have said one good thing about the KTM I probably would have bought it on the spot, probably wouldn't have been the wisest choice.

but.

You know, impulse and all.

Anyways I'd get the CRF again, and again, and again......

By CRFwoodsrider, Posted March 13, 2003

Well, I'd say you had a little bit of a quandry there. For one, do you have money to burn to fix them both to the same standards? (They are not comparable off the floor). If it were me I would have to narrow it down. Which one comes standard with fat spokes & Excel rims? Magura (Pro Taper style) fat bars? How about a hydraulic clutch (the Honda's is beautiful when still new)? Which one has an O-ring chain (or is it important to you)? Which has a clear gas tank (may not apply to SX model)? Which one do you have to rebuild due to valves? Does either bike come new with the parts closer to riding the style of riding you do most?

Which bike will use more oil?

That's what I'd suggest to use to make up your mind. If it were me I'd give the KTM's a good look before just saying Honda. While I haven't ridden the 450 yet, I have ridden the 400sx and 520exc. These are not going to use the same amount of oil as a CRF. That's a nice thing. KTM's are not quite as light but I've got 2 dinged rims on my CRF that may not be if they were Excel rims. I know guys that love both and hate both so you gotta make up your mind on your own.

Honda uses cheap steel bars, cheap rims, cheap chains, and doesn't lube their bikes worth spit from the factory. To me, how (and with what parts) it is assembled reflects something about the company building the bike. (Honda certainly knows how to build a small cylinder motor-argueably the best in the world. Why they didn't put as much into this bike is beyond me. I can run a honda generator for days and not have it use oil but my honda uses oil every day-long ride).

Well, good luck. Best thing would be to ask more people that own them (try the ktm board too) and take a ride on each if possible. (That may sound hard but I know a lot of guys that let other riders try their bikes for a short spin. It's not uncommon).

Good luck!

P.S. The worst thing you can do is look at the initial sticker price and let that determine whether you will buy a bike. It's just not an accurate comparison without taking all the above mentioned factors into account. Once you start adding parts to the bike that doesn't have the features you want, you will be up to the cost of the bike that does.

By Fastest1, Posted March 13, 2003

Though I think Woodrider made a good post about selection. Why cant you figure out why the CRF burns oil? Look at that piston and stroke! Your generator doesnt turn high rpms or decelerate quickly hopefully. I think both bikes are excellent bikes for their applications.

By CRFwoodsrider, Posted March 13, 2003

Um. Duh. Just 'cause you have 1000+ posts on here doesn't mean that I can't figure out why my bike burns oil and my generator doesn't.

lol

It was just a musing that I made in print while posting.

I will not retract it though. I DO wish Honda cured the oil usage. For track guys it's no big deal. For serious off road use it is a bit of a pain. If they got the serious power with the reliability of the generator, then we'd have a bike that would please todos las personas!

By wy4tt, Posted March 13, 2003

i agree with your ktm comparison, woodsrider. i had a 520sx before the crf, and i loved it too. i don't know what that dealer was talking about. i've not talked to anyone who had a ktm and didn't like it. they're incredible offroad bikes. for all around use though, i like the crf. it just seems to do well everywhere. it handles better than the ktm did, and i like the brakes and suspension better. but as you mentioned, the components are far superior (i spent next to nothing on ktm upgrades) on the ktm. on a different note, i don't notice the oil use issue w/ the crf like some guys do.

btw, when are you heading back to baja?

By RIPPER_65, Posted March 13, 2003

<font color="orange">KTM.........just make sure you check all the bolts.......every ride.

By DINGA, Posted March 13, 2003

By RIPPER_65, Posted March 13, 2003

Oh, I don't mean to cut KTM down........they are good bikes.

By honda88, Posted March 13, 2003

everyone makes good points,but mxdarrel makes the best availability of parts.also what do your friends run,if they have hondas if you need a part they might have it.my buddy just bought a 450f only because of a weird money situation.dont let price make your desision unless you are strapped.but were i ride tons of crfs.and i carry many spare parts and i get poeple now and then that want to borrow and i am glad to,well maybe not glad but i do.oh by the way i have over 100hrs on my bike with no problems,GO RED!

By WHIDBEYDH, Posted March 13, 2003

excelrims about 500.00 (rims,spokes, and built) last I checked. After of course you thrash the stockers.

That leaves 375.00 for whatever else I missed.( juice clutch if you want one) or maybe a z-start w/ a few xtra $

I am not dissing KTM, I believe they make a great product and would probably still buy one, although I do not have money to burn, I 'm just telling you what he told me.

My friend, along w/ many others bought off of E_Bay for around $5400.00 delivered. They can still buy billet clamps, and a scotts w/ their savings...??(when I was looking @ KTM thry were around 7300.00+++ if I remember)

So you really can't compare parts, and if you buy a CRF and dump 1500.00 +- into it and set it mext to a KTM....well I guess that would all be in the eye of the beholder.

Get the one you like best, and don't look back!!

BTW, my crf only eats oil up to the half way piont, then it seems to stop :confused:so I only fill it to the halfway point and forget about it.(sight glass, not capacity)

By WHIDBEYDH, Posted March 13, 2003

excelrims about 500.00 (rims,spokes, and built) last I checked. After of course you thrash the stockers.

That leaves 375.00 for whatever else I missed.( juice clutch if you want one) or maybe a z-start w/ a few xtra $

I am not dissing KTM, I believe they make a great product and would probably still buy one, although I do not have money to burn, I 'm just telling you what he told me.

My friend, along w/ many others bought off of E_Bay for around $5400.00 delivered. They can still buy billet clamps, and a scotts w/ their savings...??(when I was looking @ KTM they were around 7300.00+++ if I remember)

So you really can't compare parts, and if you buy a CRF and dump 1500.00 +- into it and set it mext to a KTM....well I guess that would all be in the eye of the beholder.

Get the one you like best, and don't look back!!

BTW, my crf only eats oil up to the half way piont, then it seems to stop :confused:so I only fill it to the halfway point and forget about it.

Your right about the honda not being a "ride and put away" bike, but I like to tinker w/ mine as long as it's not exessive. I've done my valves once in 14 months, not to bad.

Otherwise (exept for after market parts) the bike has been flawless.

By FrankCastle, Posted March 13, 2003

Just use the three S rule to make your decision.

Suspension suspension suspension.

The answer should be simple then.

By wingman111, Posted March 13, 2003

Dear Friends

Hello ,I would say that the biggest reason to buy a Honda over any KTM is the issue of parts back up.I worked in a multi line dealership for years we sold Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki,Kawasaki and KTM.Parts were available mostly in 1 to 2 days from the Japenese and in about 3 weeks if at all from KTM.It was easy to make the daily special order min. from the japenese brands but it could be a week or more before the KTM min. was made.Recently KTM made a lot of noise aboout upgradeing their parts distribution system but as far as I can see not much has changed.When I had to deal with KTM's parts centers even for the dealer body you could not call them and even have them answer the phone during business hours most of the time, I think they were sick of having to tell thier dealers that they didn't have the part that thier customer desperately needed and had no idea when that part would be available.

All this being said if you really need a KTM get a 520,it's much faster than that 450 they sell.cheers

By Fastest1, Posted March 13, 2003

By WHIDBEYDH, Posted March 13, 2003

Thats the reason he gave for ruining a perfectly good customer. He never realy said that the bike itself was a POS. just the company's parts availability policy.

By antman, Posted March 13, 2003

I never rode a KTM 450, but the review between the YZ, KTM, and CRF had the KTM at the bottom of the barrel for worst handling and lack of power in comparison to the other two. I've had two CRF's (an '02 and now an '03) niether of which used oil and my '03 never needed a valve adjustment (my '02 needed one initially and not thereafter). The '03 CRF has been trouble free for me. I ride the Hell out of it and it keeps taking it and begging for more.

By jmart233, Posted March 13, 2003

Both are great bikes, but when you need to get parts for your bike, the Honda will be easier to get. Good luck finding a KTM that always has the parts you need. From what I heard it always seems like the KTM dealers need to order the parts and even then your not guaranteed to get them.

Jeremy Martin Leads the Charge for Wiseco Riders at Daytona Supercross
Christian Craig Turns in Career Best in 450 Competition
MENTOR, Ohio (March 13, 2018) – Jeremy Martin showed the way for Wiseco-sponsored riders in Saturday night’s Monster Energy Daytona Supercross presented by Honda. In a season marred by bad luck and misfortune, Martin put together a near flawless ride to earn his first Eastern Regional 250SX Class podium finish of the season.
Martin qualified eighth for the division’s annual visit to the World Center of Racing, finished fourth in his heat race, and came home second in the 250SX main event, missing his first win of the year by less than a second.

“It’s Daytona, a real man’s track.” said Martin who sits fourth in points. “It was the toughest race of the year as far as fitness. I had to slow down a little bit, halfway through the main. I was getting close to (race winner) Jordon (Smith) and I was starting to think about where I could make a move on him, then I made some mistakes and he got away from me. Couldn’t quite get close again, but it’s good. We’re on the podium and in contention for wins again. That’s something I haven’t been able to say in supercross in a while. We want to get wins and now we know it’s coming.”
Martin’s podium was a bright spot, but the rest of the event was rough for the GEICO Honda/Factory Connection squad. RJ Hampshire crashed hard in his heat race and had to be transported to a local hospital. He injured his back and ribs, but shoulder pain left him with the most concern.
“I felt good on the bike all day,” said Hampshire via his Instagram account. “Had some pretty good speed and my foot just slid off hitting my shifter in those rollers during that heat race. After seeing the pictures from the crash I’m very thankful I didn’t take a shot to my head. I have some fractures in my T3/T4 in my back and ribs. Also have some damage to my lungs which is why I’ll be spending a couple nights in the hospital. I’ll be getting some more checkups this week on the shoulder also.”
Cameron McAdoo, the third member of the team, was unable to compete at Daytona after being sidelined with a hand injury two races ago in Atlanta.
Across the paddock, in the premier 450SX Class, Christian Craig got the call to fill in for Team Honda HRC. With the team’s regular riders Ken Roczen and Cole Seely out with injuries, it was up to Craig to carry the load for the factory team, and the upstart rider didn’t disappoint.
The San Diego native was solid in both qualifying sessions, won his heat race and snagged the holeshot in the division’s main event. After relinquishing the lead to eventual winner Justin Brayton, Craig continued to show he was up for the challenge. The 26-year-old rider raced for second and third for most of the 20-minute-plus-one-lap feature before losing one more spot in the late goings to bring his No. 32 Honda CRF450R home fourth in the final rundown.

“I had a great week testing with the team,” commented Craig. “They came down to Florida right after Atlanta and I feel like we really improved. Just getting more time on the bike and getting more comfortable was huge. I started off race day feeling really good. My qualifying position didn’t really show it, but overall I was happy with my riding. It’s all about having fun out there, and man, that’s what I did tonight. I was up front in the heat race, fell to third, but then the two guys in front took each other out so I ended up winning. You can call it luck or whatever, but I just put myself in a good position to capitalize on people’s mistakes."
“I had a good gate pick and some confidence going into the main. I grabbed the holeshot and led for almost the first lap, but [Justin] Brayton got by me pretty quick. I stayed second for quite a while. I just rode my hardest and did my best. Unfortunately, a couple guys got by me so I ended up fourth. The track was so tough. This is only my second time racing Daytona and last year didn’t go well, so I really wanted to get some revenge this year. It’s better than the week before, but man, I was so close to a podium. I just need to keep putting myself in good positions and work on getting better each weekend.”
Monster Energy AMA Supercross rolls on this weekend when the series visits the “Gateway to the West” for its annual race at the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis. The 11th of 17 races on the 2018 supercross calendar will be televised live on FS1 Saturday, March 17, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 5 p.m. Pacific.
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I have a 03 450 that I just got and it runs great! I love my bike and am big on preventative maintenance. I have searched the threads on TT and have not found any descriptive threads on how to check valve clearance or adjust them. Just by looking at them, I can see that the intakes need to be shimmed and the exhaust valves can be adjusted quite easily unless one needs to be adjusted differently than the other.
I tried to do it last night, and lined up the marks on each side to get the piston to TDC to check adjustments and could not get any readings on tolerances on either the intake nor the exhaust. I moved the crank a little bit forward and got a .011 reading on the exhaust valves. I read in a thread that the spec was .011" for the left one and .014" in the right for the auto decompressor. The spec I am using for the intakes is .006" Are these specs correct? :excuseme:The only issue is that the adjustment for the exhaust valves is one and the same. Different from my KTM where you can adjust each valve individually.
No matter where the cam was on the intake valves, I could not get any readings. Does anyone have a thread, website, downloadable manual, or article on checking and adjusting valves in these beasts?

I am selling my 2007 Honda CRF 450-R which is set up for desert racing (Track/desert). It has an 18" rear tire with a heavy duty setup (see description for details). The bike screams and has a Tokyo mods carb mod with the 10x ignition mapping (currently set to a handlebar switch for smooth power and max power). Gas tank is a 3.2 gallon IMS dry break tank. V4 steering stabilizer included. Precision Concepts suspention, Bike is set up for 6'4" 175lb rider. Zero oil leaks and well maintained using a preventative maintenance method with the best new parts each time. Receipts for all items can be provided. About 20 hours on the rebuilt head. Carb just rebuilt. Starts cold in just 2-3 kicks. 100% reliable bike as long as you turn the gas on. Current CA Red sticker and original title.

I recently replaced water pump and seal after I noticed that my '02 CRF450R was spilling coolant on easy trail rides. After the water pump swap (which was successful), I noticed the same problem. It's interesting - the bike only spits coolant (I mean a LOT of coolant) after passing anything above 1/2 throttle. The bike makes this weird 'gurgling' noise, like trying to suck through a straw when your glass is almost empty. This is weird because I properly bled/ burped the radiators with coolant, and filled them to normal operating levels. The coolant spills through overflow hose.
anyways - I swapped the radiator because I thought maybe the bike was running hot. I purchased oversized radiators, bought a 1.6 radiator cap (with a temp gauge) and bought engine ice. The bike runs very very cool - the temp gauge allows me to see this. Still, the bike shoots coolant out of the overflow after going above half throttle, making the same weird gurgling noise when it does. Bike has all of its power, top end was replaced not too long ago.
I'm lost and don't know what is wrong with the cooling system in my bike. How do I make the bike stop shooting out coolant, and stop making the weird gurgle noise??? Any advice would help me!!! Thank you!